The Saskatchewan government is looking at the possibility of nuclear energy to help reduce the province’s emissions and fight the carbon tax.
This comes after Premier Scott Moe signed an MOU with Ontario and New Brunswick on Sunday to look into the development of small modular reactors, or SMRs.
Sask. NDP leader Ryan Meili feels the province needs to research all possible technologies including SMRs, but he adds the government should not be investing all their attention just on nuclear.
He wants to see the Sask. Party take full advantage of other opportunities that are ready to be used.
“We saw this government shut down the solar energy industry in a heartbeat when we have this incredible opportunity in Saskatchewan, we have the best environment in the country for producing power from solar energy,” stated Meili. “[There’s also] great opportunities in wind and biomass.”
Meili added how there should be a focus on investing in on-bill financing through the renew Saskatchewan program.
When speaking to media following question period on Monday, Minister responsible for SaskPower Dustin Duncan talked about how SMRs are looking favourable compared to current alternatives looking at 2030 and beyond.
However, he said they are in their early days of researching this possible scenario, suggesting the Crown and government will need to gather more information before they begin seriously considering SMRs.
“Our first step is to get a better sense of the technology,” said Duncan. “I would say it’s at a pretty high level of scenario that could be part of SaskPower’s mix going forward. But right now the plan still is the renewables backed up by natural gas.”
There could also be a combination of those two options and a retrofit of one of their coal-fired units, according to Duncan.
As explained by the minister, SMRs are small, modular-state units that can be transported to on-grid and off-grid locations like a sea can, producing 30 to 40 megawatts at a time.
He said this is one way for the province to pursue a technology that can replace large-scale generation such as coal and natural gas.
“We’re looking for all opportunities in terms of how we’re going to procure electricity in the province for the next decade and beyond. This is just an opportunity to formalize a working agreement.”
